Matthew Tkachuk has finished his last two NHL seasons by lifting the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers. As he did so, Leon Draisaitl had to look at, sitting on the losing end with the Edmonton Oilers. Now, Tkachuk, playing for Team USA on the Olympics, got a probability to face Draisaitl on the Olympic stage.
While the US took the 5-1 victory over Germany, Tkachuk made sure to get some jabs in on Draisaitl in the shape of chirping, and talked about that after the sport, based on Mark Lazerus of The Athletic.
“At all times the bridesman, eh, Leon?” Tkachuk said to Draisaitl on the ice, as caught by a hot mic. “At all times the bridesmaid, never the bride.”
“At all times the bridesmaid eh Leon? At all times the bridesmaid, never the bride.” 💀
— 10,000 Takes (@10k_Takes) February 15, 2026
Tkachuk had to handle the remark after the competition, defeating Draisaitl once more.
“Some guys you bought to play, you already know, harder than most, physically and perhaps after the whistle sometimes, too. But I assumed our line, I assumed [Eichel] especially, did an unbelievable job of giving him and their line nothing tonight. So sometimes you gotta play each parts of the sport. But, I assumed, mainly, [Eichel] did a fantastic job in the course of the whistle of playing him hard. That was something talked about getting in, that we got to be hard on him, and [Stützle], a few of these guys over here, some high-end talent. Thought we did a fantastic job,” Tkachuk told Lazerus.
Tkachuk was on the ice often against Draisaitl, along along with his brother Brady Tkachuk and Jack Eichel. Draisaitl didn’t have some extent in the sport, as the US took the 5-1 victory. Meanwhile, the Tkachuk brothers each got an assist on the goal from Brock Faber within the second period.
Germany will now must face France on Feb. 17 within the qualifying round of the tournament. In the event that they win, they may face Slovakia on Feb. 18. Meanwhile, the US awaits the winner of Sweden and Latvia, with a bye into the quarterfinals as a result of their play within the group stage.